It's Not Fair
by number1brawlfan
Summary: The last few days haven't been good for Wally, and after overhearing a particularly shocking argument between his parents, he wants to disappear.


**Trying a little Wally angst while I'm working on the next Prison Sentence chapter. This was inspired by a dream I had where Barry was chasing after Wally for some reason and built a little bit of an angst fic around that. Now, it's worth mentioning that Barry and Wally will be in uniform during this scene, but unlike in my other fics (where I've differentiated between patrol and civilian life) they will be refereed to as Barry and Wally. This is because I wanted to give the scene a more personal feel.**

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Slightly mumbled arguments erupted from the main floor, knocking Wally out of his sleep. This wasn't the first argument to do so, to be honest, he noticed an increase in his parents vocal disagreements over the last few weeks. Slowly making his way out of his room, perching on the top of the stairs. He said nothing, not wanting to cause even more of a ruckus. He thought it was just another spat over something as simple as bills or some seemingly minor issue that one of them had.

It wasn't unusual, at least over the last two weeks. Their argument would wake him up, he'd hear the end of it, and they'd end it with

The school day was less than normal. Wally had been pretty withdrawn, an unusual occurrence for the usually social teen. No one knew why, and whenever someone asked, he brushed their concerns off, claiming to be fine, just not feeling particularly talkative.

The next day wasn't any better. In fact it only seemed to get worse. Another loud argument woke Wally up. However this morning was different. For one Wally woke up at the climax of the argument as he snuck to the top step. He could tell that they hadn't been arguing long, but it was at its most volatile. He didn't expect it to be out of the ordinary, it had been about money and something about a court case from what he could gather. Unfortunately, Wally was soon hit with a bombshell coming from his father, causing him to jolt in fear. He soon heard his mother tried to shush him, concerned that Wally could hear. She quietly requested that he not say anything about it, not yet. Wally stayed on the stairs, grimly processing what he had just heard.

Patrol was about to begin. Barry was clad in his Flash uniform, and was ready to go. Before he could even he could get started, his phone buzzed off. Quickly grabbing it, he briefly scanned the Caller I.D. before picking it up.

"Hey Iris." Barry greeted. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Wally?" Iris stressfully investigated.

"No. Haven't seen him at all today."

That wasn't a lie. He hadn't even seen his nephew at all over the last few days as a matter of fact, and was starting to anxiously wonder where he was. He hadn't even showed up for patrol, which was unusual for Wally. Not to mention, he hadn't even contacted Barry with his daily report, which Barry heartily enjoyed.

A displeased sigh emanated from the other side of the line. Clearly this wasn't the answer she wanted. However, it was the one she got.

"Could you look for him?"

The inquiry wasn't a problem, but it was a little curious that Iris was making such a request. It gave him the perfect opportunity to do some investigating of his own.

"Of course. Is something wrong?"

"Mary called me. Apparently Wally didn't come home from school and she hasn't heard from him at all."

The news was shocking. Wally almost always reported home after school. Even if he was meeting Barry up later. If he didn't report home on time, be it patrol or something after school, he made sure to a least call.

"She called the school and they don't know where he went." Iris added. "Supposedly he had been down all day, not talking to anyone, and he skipped out on his study session with a friend after school. Even Mary said that he was acting a little strange this morning."

"That's odd." Barry admitted. "Are we sure we're talking about Batman and not our lovably chipper Wally West?"

The humored jab was his effort to lighten the mood. It probably didn't help much, but it didn't hurt to try.

"My thoughts exactly. So I asked her what she thought."

A puzzled sigh escaped Iris.

"Apparently she and Rudy have been arguing a lot lately."

Barry wasn't sure if he should be surprised or not. Iris had mentioned that it could be difficult to get along with her brother sometimes, but he usually meant well. Especially with Mary. They always got along.

"This morning was a particularly nasty on." Iris filled in. "Wally was verbally bashed by Rudy, being called a regret and a mistake while Mary argued he didn't mean that, but the worst was what came at the end. Rudy threw out divorce and how he can't wait for it to go through."

Barry was floored by the statement. That was something he wasn't expecting. Regardless of whether or not Wally knew about this up until this point, it didn't matter. There was nothing to suggest that this was going to happen. There were no signs of it.

"I think he ran away because of that." Iris interrupted, cutting off his train of thought. "She didn't want him knowing until everything was finalized and she could approach it correctly. Please, just find him. For me. I'm so worried that he'll get himself hurt."

"Don't worry, I'll find him. Once I do, I'll be sure to take care of him and…"

Barry didn't finish his sentence when he caught the sight of Kid Flash standing a few steps away. The sound of Iris trying to get his attention could be heard as Barry stared at Wally. He was distraught, horrified that Barry heard everything.

"Wally!" Barry called, unable to grab him before he sped off.

"What's going on?" Iris asked.

"I'll call you back." Barry promised, hanging up before she could argue.

A yellow blur sped through the city with Flash chasing after it, causing a curious ruckus with the people they passed. Kid Flash had no set movement as he harshly turned around corners and alleyways sporadically. He didn't want his uncle to catch him that much was certain.

Barry knew he had to catch him. Wally was not in the right state of mind, and he hated it. Wally didn't deserve to suffer like this.

Wally's sporadic travel was bothersome, but was something Barry hoped to combat. Every turn he made, Wally was two turns ahead. He had to cut him off somehow.

Flash managed to cut his protégé off, a straight run with very little turning provided an opportunity. He grabbed his nephew's arm. Pulling him closer, Barry wrapped around his shoulders. Wally squirmed in the grip, but eventually gave up when he realized how futile it was. Barry could feel his nephew shaking.

"Let me go!" Wally screamed.

"No." Barry denied. "I'm not letting you run. This isn't your fault."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your parents. This is not your fault. I know you're hurt and you're probably scared, but what it's not because you're a mistake."

Wally was silent. He was moved by his statement, but it hurt him inside.

"It's not fair." Wally cried. "It just not fair."

The dampness of Wally's tears started to bleed into his scarlet uniform. His shaking didn't stop either, seeming to increase ever so slightly. Barry could feel Wally's feet give out, allowing Barry to support his weight. A hand blended in with Wally's red hair as his thumb gently circled through it.

"I know, but it's going to be okay. We're here for you. Iris is here for you. I'm here for you. No matter what happens, we're here for you."

Wally finally let out a mournful cry. His finally wrapped around Barry, keeping a firm hold on him.

"It's okay Wally." Barry calmly whispered. "It's okay."

Barry brought Wally home. To his and Iris' house. Along the way, they had changed into their civilian clothes and had a long talk along the way. Barry learned that the reason behind Wally's hiatus was because of Wally withdrawing himself from the world. His parents had been arguing so much that he didn't want to leave the house. And after hearing his father's cold remark, he wanted to disappear. Wally admitted that his father had been getting distant as of late, and a little more agitated, but he didn't know that it was this bad.

Barry couldn't believe what Wally had overheard. Not only did his father regret having him and calling him a mistake, but he also wished that the accident that gave him his powers killed him.

Wally didn't want to go home. Not that Barry blamed him. While he couldn't really relate, if he were in Wally's shoes, Barry wouldn't want to go home either.

The door opened, startling Iris slightly. The sight of the duo was both a relief and confusing. The red, puffiness in Wally's eyes had subsided and he pulled out his best grin.

"He's going to be staying with us for a while." Barry decided, lightly patting Wally's shoulder. "I'll make the call to his parents later."

"Come here." Iris calmly sighed, approaching Wally.

She embraced him. Wally appreciated it. After a few moments she let go, keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"You're always welcomed here." Iris welcomed before placing a light kiss on his forehead.

"Let me get you settled." Barry declared.

Barry started to lead the way when a hand grabbed his sleeve. Looking back, Barry found Wally silently observed him.

"Thank you." Wally whispered.

Barry smiled.

"Of course." Barry replied. "I'd do anything for you, you know that."

Wally shot his uncle a warm smile.

"Now let's go, there's more to the house than just the kitchen."

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 **Feel free to let me know what you think. I know it may not be perfect, but I did want to do a little Wally oneshot (I may do more Wally stuff later).**


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